Death, tumors harm efforts to save rare rhinos

Efforts to save critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceroses weredealt a double blow this week with the death of one animal in a US zoo and thediscovery of reproductive tumors in another.There are just 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild in their native lands of Indonesiaand Malaysia, and nine are held in captivity for breeding purposes.The lumbering creatures have dwindled rapidly due to deforestation, humansencroaching on their habitat, and illegal poaching for their horns.Suci, a nine-year-old female, died on March 30 at the Cincinnati Zoo from aninheritable disease called hemochromatosis, in which too much iron builds up in thebody.Her mother also died of the condition when she was 21, said Terri Roth, vicepresident of conservation at the Cincinnati Zoo. "It is just an absolutely huge blow. I just can't tell you how terrible I feel about it,"Roth told AFP.Last year, Roth stirred controversy by announcing the zoo would attempt to breedSuci with her younger brother, Harapan, since there were no other available mates.Female rhinos can develop tumors and cysts in their reproductive tract iftheydonotbecome pregnant when they come of age, making it impossible for them to bearoffspring in later years.But efforts to breed the pair never took place, Roth said.Zoo officials first realized something was awry with Suci in October, and though sheexperienced a period of improvement, her condition deteriorated again rapidly.- Tumors as big asfootballs-Word of Suci's passing was followed by more bad news about Iman, a female rhinorecently captured in Malaysia and transferred to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve on March21.Conservationists believed she might have been pregnant when they found her, givenher "feisty behavior, a torn ear, probably a result of a past tussle with a male, (and) amass with blood vessels inside the uterus," said a statement from the reserve.However, an ultrasound examination done under anesthesia dashed those hopes."There is no fetus in her uterus but big, big tumors, some as big as footballs," saidThomas Hildebrand of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW)Berlin. The discovery suggests that she had not mated in at least five years, and thatSumatran rhinos, which need a lot of space and isolation from humans, may nolonger be reproducing on their own."This is grim news as this seems to confirm our thoughts that rhinos might not bebreeding any more in the wild,” said Sen Nathan, assistant director at the SabahWildlife Department.Some experts think capturing more rhinos from the wild could bolsterbreedingefforts, even though in-vitro fertilization has not worked, at least not yet, inSumatran rhinos."If we want to save the species, we need to bring rhinos into managed conditionsand try out advanced reproductive technologies," said Zainal Zahari Zainuddin, aBorneo Rhino Alliance veterinarian based at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.The Cincinnati Zoo was the first facility to successfully breed the Sumatran rhino in112 years and Suci was one of three calves born there. The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia has also produced a calf in captivity.Roth said at least two of the rhinos in Indonesian captivity are fertile, and they havea capable male who was sent by the Cincinnati zoo."Hopefully we will be able to continue working with our Indonesian colleagues andhelp them succeed in producing some more calves in the future," said Roth.Meanwhile, US zoo officials have to decide what is next for Suci's brother Harapan, the only remaining Sumatran rhino in US captivity."Is it important to have an ambassador animal here in the US? Or would it be moreimportant for him to go back to southeast Asia and have an opportunity to breed?"We will need to sit down and put our heads together and do what's best," said Roth.